batimg

batimg is a small program written in Rust, designed to be fast and compatible with every terminal.
It can print images and play videos in almost every format in your terminal.

Build

Build bin and install dependencies: cargo build --release Bin location: ./target/release/batimg

Dependencies

• ffmpeg - Required for video playback
• yt-dlp (optional) - Required for YouTube URL support
  • Install: pip install yt-dlp or download from https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

Usage

USAGE:
    batimg [OPTIONS] <FILE>

ARGS:
    <FILE>    Path to the media or YouTube URL

OPTIONS:
    -d, --debug         Print debug stats
    -a, --audio         Play video audio (unstable)
    -h, --help          Print help information
    -l, --loop          Loop the video
    -s, --size <u32>    Canvas size
    -r, --resolution    Disable high resolution mode (half pixel character)
    -p, --prerender     Export frames first (unstable)
    -t, --timesync      Disable realtime synchronization
    -V, --version       Print version information

EXAMPLES:
    batimg img.png
    batimg img.jpg -s 100
    batimg video.mp4 -a
    batimg animation.gif
    batimg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
    batimg https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ -a

Goals

• Show images
• Play videos
• Play audio
• Improve the resolution
• Improve cleaning escape codes
• Getting rid of FFmpeg high CPU usage (Frame extraction)

batimg vs catimg

	batimg	catimg
creation date	2021	2013
language	rust	shell/c
format	almost all	png/jpg/gif
dependencies	ffmpeg (videos), yt-dlp (optional, for YouTube)	imagemagick
resize algorithm	nearest neighbor	nearest color
resolution	▀ / █	▀ / ██
video support	yes	no
audio support	yes	no
CPU usage	medium (images) high (videos)	medium
prerendering	Disabled by default	Always enabled
time sync	Enabled by default	Seems enabled, but not on every gif

Rendering comparison on pixel arts.